B-
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
McNeil-Warren should have been long gone. The Buccaneers pounced, and earned a B-.
by stestansfield ·
2026 NFL Draft
· 7 picks
· 2 steals
· 2 reaches
The board owed the Buccaneers one, and it paid up: Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, the No. 52 name on the board, sitting there at the Round 3 slot like a gift left on the doorstep. They moved the roster forward and banked a B- for it.
If Elliott pans out, nobody remembers the price. If not, this is the pick they hear about. Leaving interior defensive lineman unaddressed is the roster risk they will have to answer for in the fall. They were the ones paying the moving tax this weekend.
Good work on the whole, with interior defensive lineman the one box left unchecked.
Pick-by-Pick
In pick No. 28 they get a sideline-to-sideline linebacker. Need was not the driver here.
They paid up for Gabe Jacas at Round 2, Pick 14 when waiting would have done the job. It plugs a real leak on the depth chart.
Emmanuel McNeil-Warren in the 77th pick is a gift, value that borders on unfair. Useful depth more than a marquee fix.
A tidy little value on Julian Neal in No. 116, a step better than break-even. It patches a soft spot without any drama.
They took Kage Casey at par in the 155th overall pick, which is nothing to complain about. A glaring weakness, addressed head on.
Keyshaun Elliott at pick 195 is a conviction pick that outran the value. A luxury on a unit that was already in good shape.
Quietly one of the better values of the day, Aiden Fisher at slot 229. Insurance at a position that did not really ask for it.